The Land of the Rising
by Tenshisonnet
Summary: Trowa and Wufei are Chinese brothers who are sent to Japan to marry two sons of an influential family. How will they react to there new mates? yaoi 3x13, 1x5
1. Leaving One Side of the Sea

**Land of the Rising**

Pairing: 13x3/3x3

Part: 1/4

Completed: 3/4

Author's note: I'm not an old Japanese guy so I don't own GW. This fic has many references to historical Chinese and Japanese culture. The Exam mentioned in this part is a Chinese exam given to people who want to be in some sort of governemt position. Scholars will study for this exam for a large portion of their lives. No one under the age of thirty has ever passed it. 

"Baba! How can you be so cruel?! I am not something to se sold!" Wufei yelled at the top of his lungs into the cold winter night, at the base of his mountain home. Miles from his house, he collapsed like a weeping widow over her past husband. Pink with falling tears, his heavy heart fell onto the cool soil for him to stare at. "Damn you, Baba!"

Gallivanting around in the cold moonlight a westerner ran briskly in dark green Chinese pants and a long shirt. "Damn you, Wu. Where are you? We're in this together, remember?" By the stump of a large tree, Trowa passed a long braid tied with a familiar black string. Soon there after, he found a crumpled Chinese boy wet with tears at the mountain's edge. Distressed, he ran to the boy with fear of his departure. "Wufei! Come on!" With the dismissing whimper of his friend, he inspected his friend's head. Gasping, he pulled him to his feet. "We've gotta get you home before they see you." With the pouty boy against his side, he began the long track home.

Wufei awoke to a white haze across his eyes. Moaning, the light pulled away to reveal a servant girl placing a damp cloth on his head. His brain felt like a beaten carpet hanging on a line outside of the house. "Where's Trowa?" he asked.

"Oh, he's in the main room discussing things. It looks like you worried yourself sick, master Wufei. I'll tell your mother you're awake." With that, she removed herself from the room.

He wanted to start crying again. His pounding head broke apart into a thousand pieces. "They can't do this to me!" he yelped. Throwing clothes on, he adjusted to his ache. The door slide open with a bang and he made his way to the main room. His bare feet across the wood floors made his ache beckon for the bed once more, they were to leave in only one week. He had only one week to convince his father otherwise.

Trowa's voice echoed around the corner. "I know Baba. I understand that. You can send me away to Japan, but Wufei; he's not ready for it yet. Please give him a little while longer."

That voice pulled at his heartstrings, but he found strength in it. With the same resilience, Wufei bounded into the room. His father looked up at him with great disdain. "So this is what Trowa was talking about. Trowa this is even more of a reason he should leave with you, he'll be killed if he stays here."

Obediently, he kept his eyes on his father while Wufei sat beside him with a snort. "At least you could have told us a bit before this. You are send us hundreds of miles away from our homeland to serve some person we don't know for the rest of our lives! Don't you think we should have known a year before this?"

"Watch you tone when talking to us, Wufei," his father snorted back. "Arranged marriages are normal. You're lucky I didn't send you to the Americas."

"Wufei, Trowa, I understand how you feel. I was sent to your father from Europe twenty years ago. I didn't know him or this language, but I learned how to survive. So will you. Think of this as a way to help your family, not a burden," their mother consoled.

"With all due respect Mama, you let Baba sell us to the sons of a wealthy family in an enemy country. How are we helping the family?" Wufei curtly asked.

The booming voice of his father returned, "You are helping China find peace with Japan. If anyone in China saw you now, you'd be a disgrace. How could you cut off your heritage?"

Trowa finally looked in his brother's direction. His hair was cut short jaggedly to his shoulders. It didn't look bad, but it didn't look Chinese.

"If I can't stop you from sending us, then I'm excusing myself," he stood up and faced his father coldly, then turned his back to him as he walked out.

"Wufei, get back here! I didn't tell you to leave!" his father yelled to his back.

Wufei continued down the hall and into Trowa's room, slamming the door behind him. He pulled several layers of fine sheets up and buried himself completely by them. The pressure behind his eyes pushed its way into soft, quiet tears. There he froze into a sleepy trance until his foreign brother found his way back into the room. The long arms pinned Wufei under the covers, disabling him from even moving.

"Tr. . wa . .et. . ut. PL. . Z!" he fussed through the sheets.

After several breathless moments, Trowa let go. The Chinese boy shot up from under the blankets like he had out of the main room. "What'd you do that for?"

With a sigh, Trowa lamented the frustration in his heart. "You're making this hard on everyone, Wufei."

"They're the ones sending us away!" he pouted angrily. "Aren't you at least a little pissed! Injustice!"

"I am upset, but what can we accomplish by throwing tantrums? We might as well take this slowly and do as our family wishes."

"But we were sold," he clarified.

"We are helping our nation. Does China mean anything to you?" he asked.

Wufei curled up into a ball on the covers. "How are we, two people going to help a nation by getting hitched?"

"There's four of us, Wufei. Don't you think the sons on the other side of the sea are going through the same things we are?"

He shot up again, "But they don't have to abandon their country in the process. All of our friends, all the people we know . . . We'll never see them again! We can't have the same things in Japan!"

"Wufei, we're marrying two of the wealthiest sons in Japan. I think we can get anything we need there as well," he reasoned.

Wufei ran toward the door facing outside and threw it open. He pointed to the outside wildly. "Are we going to have Xuan mountain?! Are we going to have the garden? Our Garden, where we used to hide from the servant girls? Where we had our first kiss? Huh?! Trowa in Japan we can't have each other!"

Trowa nodded sympathetically as if he'd thought of it all before. "I understand that, Wu. I know this already, but it's not our choice. If we stayed here, we'd have to marry some Chinese royalty. It's just a different location. And you cut your hair off. Now no Chinese royalty will have you. If your Japanese fiancée doesn't want you now, you have no where to go. The family won't support you anymore. Please, Wu, this is your only chance to live well."

Wufei started to cry again. "I hate you sometimes, Trowa!"

Smiling, Trowa walked to him and gathered him up in his long sleeves. "That's because I'm always right."

A week later, Trowa and his brother were on the first ship headed for the land of the sun. Trowa stood against the sunset shimmering in oranges and purples while his brother leaned against the opposite railing on the other side of the ship. He recalled his mother biding him farewell. She tucked in his arms a finely bound blank book. Searching her eyes, he found the reason for it. His new story was beginning. The story of his Chinese life was tucked away in only his and Trowa's minds. The gardens, boat races, and love for his brother must end with the old story. The ebony-haired boy turned to face his brother's backside seemingly miles away. 'I can't love you how I used to,' he thought with a deep cry in his gut. 'Our love must transcend into a new love, but not merely brotherly love. You know this, too. I have to stop being a child around you and grow up in all the faces I encounter. I can't cry in your arms anymore.'

The green-eyed boy walked over to his lost companion. The shaken boy looked silently into his brother's eyes seeking acknowledgement. He couldn't utter the words he needed to tell his brother. Smiling thinly, the brown-haired boy kissed his brother's forehead in agreement. "We'll be okay, Wufei. Nothing in our new home will change us," he said.

"I know."

After a moment of silence, The taller boy cleared his throat and rose a book to Wufei's face. After sighing unimpressed at the book; he scowled at his brother in obvious displeasure. "So I have to?"

"No, but wouldn't you like to know what the court thinks of you," he answered. He put the book in his hands and shoved him in the direction of the cabins to study.

Wufei patted into their room and closed the creaky door behind him. Falling stomach first onto the bed of fine pillows, Wufei cracked open the book to its first chapter. "O-ha-yo-go-za-i-ma-su. Ohayogozaimasu. Geez, can't they just say "Nihao"? Ko-n-ni-chi-wa. Konnichiwa. Ko-n-ba-n-wa. Konbanwa. I should've learned this stuff years ago like, what is he in this damn language, Anue. Ii desu ka? Ii desu yo," he continued his Japanese lessons.

A week later a ship arrived aside the ship the pair was in. A smaller ship, it sailed directly next to theirs until one wooden box was given to the captain. After the other ship left, the captain called Trowa to open the box. "Who is it from?"

"The Kuyuma. They said it contained things for the trip you needed," he answered.

"All that trouble for one box?" he asked no one in particular. He thanked the captain and opened the box after the captain left his quarters. The rigid box popped open with considerable effort to reveal one letter on top of fine Kimono. Trowa's name was written on the front to the long set of papers. Settling down in a chair beside his sleeping brother, he opened the thick letter and began to read:

Chun-Mixu Trowa

Forgive me for my impatience, but I needed to write you before you arrived. I am Kuyuma Treize, your Japanese fiancée. My father has bade me send you and your brother fond word. Political circumstance in Edo is agreeable. Parliamentary and Imperial powers are stable. 

This season's weather is fondly looked upon in my culture as well as your native country, correct? I've studied Chinese culture upon many other cultures in anticipation of your arrival. If you do not mind me expressing these things, I will continue in the way I feel comfortable. You see I am content at my father's choice in mates for his children. The matchmaker, also of political birth, has wedded my older brother to a woman of noble blood of the second court. Therefore, my brother and I indeed need not marry, but chose to. I will explain my brother before myself.

Kuyuma Heero is a reserved boy who trains and studies in equal bounty and equal force. I believe he works too hard to please our father at best. I feel a bit of guilt as of my part in it. Like most brotherly relations, one brother always achieves more in one field or another. Unfortunately, I do excel at more things than my brother; thus, father praises me more in act and in material. As Heero can not beat me in things I excel, he drills in his best areas constantly. Marriage will settle him down. In Japan, we have heard of young Wufei as rather lively. Our hopes are to soothe both partners of excessive burden through each other. To rest any doubts your brother harbors, he his quite a fine young man, developed in many ways, so the court tells me. He may be cold at first, but I assure you both he has not a heart of stone.

As for myself, I wait humbly for our meeting. Dissimilar to many in my court, I am humbled at our selection for each other. I have heard many things about you, the many achievements that complement and excel beyond my own. The tender age at which you passed the "Exam for Scholars of general Purpose", mastery of your native sword, and other martial arts. Word of the sea is that you take strong pleasure in the written language of your country and many others, including Japanese. Not only your intellect through scholarship, but your wisdom through action and diplomacy has been transmitted through stories of valor even on this side of the sea. I hear of your finely sculpted face, athletic body, and gentle spirit. You, Trowa, I hope are everything I dream for in a mate. By stories you are only one I can dream of. If even half true, I will need not concubines or even a child to make me happy.

Before my mind escapes completely in thoughts of you, the box you received contains things of our country for you to enjoy on the long voyage. I've included my favorite book and other less known books I've enjoyed. I hope you find pleasure in them also.

Day by day, nightfall by nightfall, I dream of you.

Treize

Taken back by woo upon woo, Trowa sat contently thinking about his future husband. If his eloquence were as good in person as it was in the letter, he would be captive for a lifetime to come.

Finally, his gaze drifted to his softly snoring companion, then to the box. He removed the unfamiliar titles then pulled out the first of several kimono. This first was a fiery red sunset with greenery at the bottom of the sleeves and the body. The clothing looked just like it did in all the books he'd read, except better. He immediately stripped down and wrapped himself in it. The cool silk warmed instantly around his body as he tied the garment on. His thin figure was accentuated in this piece as he stared at himself in the mirror. All the things about his body that Treize recited in the letter hit him for the first time. He'd never really thought about or had taken notice of how well he kept himself. Not even Wufei commented on his physique. This man across the sea knew what Trowa never knew he wanted to hear about himself. Cuddled in his new garb, the green-eyed boy fell asleep in the soft chair with the letter pressed to his heart.

Part 2


	2. Meeting Their Mates

**Land of the Rising**

Pairing: 13x3/3x3

Part: 2/4

Completed: 3/4

Author's note: I'm not an old Japanese guy so I don't own GW. This fic has many references to historical Chinese and Japanese culture.

The air was different. The strange smells that dissolved over the sea became even more apparent as the brothers stood at the port, waiting for an escort to their new home. Wufei's mind pushed over the new smells like water over a large rock in the middle of a dam. The thing that allowed them movement was even different here. 'How can I do this when everything is so different? At least I have Trowa.' He looked over to Trowa who silently took in the experience of his new home. 'Something had happened while he was sleeping a couple days ago,' he pondered. 'He normally doesn't sleep so long into the day as he has been since then. Maybe it was the kimono,' he reflected staring down at his longer kimono. He was too short for it. 'How can they practice in these things?' he fidgeted.

"Wu," he tapped his brother's shoulder and motioned toward a manservant approaching them.

The man had long blonde hair and a sleek figure. The kimono he wore was a bit thicker than any other they'd seen in the box. "Forgive me for being so late," he apologized. "Sirs, if you'd follow me, we have a long trip ahead of us."

Hesitantly, the pair followed the man toward an open carriage with pillows for them to sit on. After the crew loaded up the carriage, they waved their good-byes and headed into an even more obtuse realm.

Half a day away another set of brothers waited anxiously for their mates to arrive. Heero settled his anticipation by studying his movements with the katana. On the other side of the mansion, Treize sat in the lush garden underneath a healthy Sakura tree, inhaling and exhaling slowly. 'Soon,' he thought, 'even the air will smell differently, with the passing season and I still haven't heard anything of my fiancée. Are they near? Are they still at sea? I must not try to rush eternity.'

The dreary carriage ride was endless. The brothers rested against each other after the fifth hour. The manservant insisted on taking back roads the whole way there. Bobbing up and down in the rickety carriage, Trowa turned to and, as if to keep secret a part of himself, quietly asked, "Wufei, is it possible to miss someone you haven't met yet?"

He moaned back, not wanting to talk about the entire situation.

Resorting to the other silent companion, Trowa sat closer to the driver. "Sir, what do you know about the Kuyuma?"

"Sir, you may call me Zechs. The Kuyuma are a respectable family with a long lineage dating back to near the beginning of our nation," he said proudly.

"Are you a Kuyuma?"

"No, no, Sir. In the last war my family lost all of our money in the blood bath. Blood soaked our farmland. Finding the family after the war, Master Kuyuma brought all of us in and gave us jobs. He is very good to his friends."

"So everyone is nice in the family? There aren't any big family problems? No big secrets?" he inquired.

Zechs thought for a moment. "Like any family, there are a few unaccepting individuals. Lots of the elders protested against the youngest sons marrying other men. Aside from a little conflict in marriage matters and fights over money, the family is very stable. When they need to rally together for anything, they are unstoppable."

Coughing a little in nervousness, he finally asked, "What of Master Treize? Is anything of interest happening around him? What is he like?"

Smirking, Zechs replied, "I don't think my master would like me to answer that. Sorry, sir."

"I understand. But, if I may ask, do you know if he's been acting differently in the past couple weeks?"

"He's been a bit more day dreamy. I think my master is just as anxious to see you as you are to see him."

"Zechs, I hope I get to work with you in the future."

"Thank you, sir."

A few hours later, the brothers brushed themselves off and nearly beat each other in anticipation. Wufei had resorted to counting the leaves that passed by. Trowa caught onto what he was doing made him start from the beginning in Japanese. After the two-thousandth leaf, Zechs warned them they were approaching the manor. The brothers scooted to the edges of the carriage to watch the branches fall back to show them their future home.

Trowa gasped as Wufei snorted. The manor was twice as big as their home in China. The outer edges of the manor were lined in varieties of Bonsai as well as foreign shrubbery. The colors ranged for the sky to the thick mountain bark, every sect accounted for. The architecture was older Japanese style. So different for their home it hurt. So simple, impersonal. The dead building housed their future, so Trowa looked to the best of the manor, the gardens, while Wufei scoffed at the rough, plain house. Wait. That was a cough. "Wufei, are you well?"

"Yes, yes. I'm (cough, wheeze) fine," he smiled weakly.

"No you're not," he retorted. He took note, "You're shivering! Zechs as soon as you get in, can you call for the doctor?"

"Yes sir," he said.

"Really, Trowa, I don't need a . . ."

Trowa leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Yes, you do."

Blushing, Wufei crossed his arms and sighed. 'I hate it when he does that.'

After a couple minutes of customary silence and a few coughs, they arrived at the back entrance of the manor. Several servants scampered to the scene, taking their bags helping them out of the carriage with smiles. 'Back at home we would have gotten hugs,' Wufei protested with a mournful sigh and a wheeze, 'But I wouldn't have let them know I enjoyed it anyway.'

Zechs had disappeared without notice as the brothers took in all the new faces and smells on sensory overload. The many servant girls, burly butlers, twiggy bushes, late fall weather, were new but old. Before they knew it, they were escorted into their own rooms, but Trowa refused to stay in his new room with his brother sick. While the girls unpacked his items, he walked to the next hall to see his ill brother. Meanwhile, he felt a pair of eyes on him. Feeling unsafe, he quickened his pace to the room.

An older man hovered over his bluffing brother. "Breathe," Trowa mouthed to his brother who in turn coughed and wheezed all over the doctor. Zechs walked over to the boy to shoo him out in fear of his infection as well. Trowa shook his head and closed the door behind him.

"Young master, you must prepare for your meeting with Master Treize."

"No. We will not meet with the other family until my brother is well. And I will not part with him until he is healthy," he declared.

"But, sir, I have orders to get you ready."

"Go tell your master of a change in plans. The brothers are not to meet with us until he is better."

Zechs bit his tongue and nodded in compliance. Then, he turned to do as Trowa bid.

The doctor smiled at the two and told them he would be okay with bed rest. He could only guess how long it would take to him recover. "Two days."

Wufei shot up. "I can't be in bed for two days! We have so much to do; I have to train!"

"Calm down, Wufei. The more you act like that the longer you'll be sick."

The doctor left with only herbs as medicine. The servants led them to the heated bathing facilities. Still refusing to leave his brother, the older brother dismissed the servants and bathed with his brother. The large heated house outside the main house fumed to the ceiling. Thick layers of stream billowed from the coals in the center of the room, teasing Wufei's sickness out. Small hacks and coughs oozed out of Wufei as he moved at his brother's will. "Lift your arm," Trowa said.

"Hai," he mocked at lifted his arm for his brother to scrub. "Why don't they bathe IN the bath like normal people?"

Smiling, he replied. "Then the water would be soapy."

"Isn't that the point?" he coughed.

"Ssshhhh," he cooed into his brother's ear as he reached for his brother's dirty feet. As he started to scrub the caked dirt from it, Wufei laughed a little.

"That tickles! Don't scrub so hard. Trowa, stop. STOP IT! St. .it! (Cough)," he laughed. Then he started to hack and wheeze uncontrollably so Trowa whipped him around and held him in fear. Feeling the harsh vibrations against his chest, he began to panic after a while. The younger one shivered and stopped coughing slowly. From behind him, Trowa pulled the dirty foot toward him and scrubbed lightly. "That better?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," he leaned sleepily against him, enjoying the moment.

Trowa smiled at him and kissed the top of his head. "Let's put you in the bath."

Wufei practically leapt into the warm water and howled when he felt the warmth. "It's hot!"

Trowa just sat at the side of the bath with his feet dangling in the water as he watched his brother leap around before him. "Baka."

On the other side of the manor, the other brothers listened to their father scoff. "They're doing what?" he asked Zechs.

"The younger brother has fallen ill from travel, sir. Master Trowa has firmly stated he will stay with his brother until he is well. He also said they will not meet with the Kuyuma until the younger brother is healthy, sir,"

"Why are they being so difficult? The family said the younger one was the troublesome one."

Treize mulled over the news for a flaw in his father's logic. "Ah, Father, maybe the brother doesn't want to spread the illness into our family."

Heero looked to his brother in surprise. 'Why is he defending a person he doesn't even know?'

"Oh, Thank you Treize. Zechs tell the Chun-Mixu that we appreciate the gesture and will hold the celebratory dinner another date. Anything that will aid his brother in recovery we will provide."

The brothers were bid leave. In the hallway leading to the garden, Heero caught up with his dazed older brother. "Aniki."

"Hai?"

"Why did you say that?" he walked with him wishing to listen to the sound of his feet rather than his brother's voice.

"Doesn't it make sense?" he asked.

"Hai. Demo, You don't even know him yet and you're preserving his reputation. It's odd."

"Not all men are out to do you harm you, Heero-san. Especially your own fiancée. You have to trust."

"Demo, you don't even know him," he insisted.

"I do know him, Heero-san. And I trust him."

"Shhhh," he hushed his mumbling, sleepy brother with a soft hum of a homeland hymn. His back was to the door and anything that could ever hurt his brother. As long they were together, he would feel safe; his past, his identity, were secure anywhere. The sweet, longing melody could be heard down the hall only by the most trained ears.

The brothers headed toward their rooms after a long draining dinner keeping their thoughts from their fiancées. Their feet patted against the lacquered wooden floors past the garden and the royal room. Then halfway to their rooms, a strange sound could be heard from an unused room in the manor. They stalked to the tightly shut door in sync with each other's every move. When at the door, Heero nodded to his brother and slowly opened the door. Gradually, Heero slid the door to reveal two boys in a humid room. Treize held his breath as he tucked his head around the corner. Shocked, he let out his breath. One of the boys held the other in his lap, humming some foreign thing at his sleeping body, swaying to an unheard beat. His robe fell off of one shoulder to reveal Caucasian skin. His back was facing them, so he could not see the taller one's face. His wet hair was pushed back on his head, swept back with a silky shine. He felt the urge to reach out and touch it. Just then the other boy coughed. His stealthy head moved out of range. Still hearing the unbroken hymn, the crazed Chinese mumbling, the melody rang true in his ears. 'Who is this boy? The other one's sick. Are these boys our mates?' In turn, Heero turned his body to see the boys. The sick boy sat up a little to expose a uniquely flushed Chinese face. He sneezed, then wheezed in a small fit of expulsion. Gasping for air, he crashed back into the taller boy's arms. "Fuck," he muttered into the other boy's chest, curling up after catching his breath.

"Shhh," he continued to hum. "It'll be okay."

"I know, but it hurts, Trowa."

"Sleep will help. So be quiet and sleep."

"I'm sorry for messing the plans up."

"They'll wait. They have to. Once you get better, it will solve itself."

"Then we'll have to meet them. Will . . ."

"Quiet. Don't think about it, not now."

The smaller boy sighed softly and snuggled up against the other boy's lap. "I miss him, too."

Hidden to the brothers, Trowa smiled.

Heero retracted and closed the door. They headed to the nightly garden in silence. Finally against the stone ledge, Heero asked, "Those are them aren't they?"

"I think so."

"So the sick one is Wufei?"

"Aa."

"So the other boy is yours."

"Aa," he replied in an even deeper voice.

"I feel as if I cheated," he lamented.

"Aa. I do also."

"They had to give up everything didn't they?" he asked.

"Aa," he turned to a withering flower.

"Is that all you're going to say, Aniki? Do you have anything else to say?"

"He is beautiful," he said to no one in particular.

"He's not Asian," he tried to hide a scoff.

"He's Chinese," he stated firmly. "Do not say otherwise."

"What were they talking about, Aniki?" Heero didn't understand their Chinese.

"They were talking about meeting us."

"Honto? What did they say?"

"The one sitting told the other one to sleep. The sick one said, 'I miss him, too.' I know not who they were talking about."

Treize walked back into the hall deep in thought.

Heero stood by himself, surprised by his brother's attitude. 'Aniki, why do you have such an attachment to him? You haven't even met him? Wufei, will you ever be attached to me like that? Curl into my arms like that?'

Night faded into morning, leaving Wufei's sickness behind, except for a few coughs. Trowa spent the night with his brother, never leaving his side, not even to stretch. Wufei awoke to Trowa's sleeping face hovering above him. Slightly parted lips, slowly breathing in and out to the beat of the morning sun. Moving swiftly, he pulled himself up and into a hearty stretch. 'It feels good to move without a –cough-. Damn it.'

He leaned over and kissed the top of Trowa's head to wake him up. 'Today we meet our mates.'

As if understanding, he slothed upward into a feline stretch across the floor. Hearing a knock on the door, Trowa opened it to see Zechs with two servant girls behind him. "What is it Zechs?"

"It is late in the day. Your brother and yourself are to meet the young masters in hours. Please let us prepare you."

Another bath and two kimono later, Trowa stood in the doorway facing the other gardens where a small speck with brown hair practiced with a katana. Trowa strained to identify the stranger instead of the characters in the book he held in his limp right hand. The gardens were just beginning to fade into magnificence, but the sun fell majestically against the skyline. The sunset spread against the sky in an awkward array of oranges and reds. Every moment ended with the pounding of his heart. Soon, he would meet the one he'd missed for such a long time. Life would again feel whole. But it was the death of his life shared with Wufei. The transcendence had begun.

The speck in the distance had vanished and his eyes tore from the sun to the book. With bland expression and apprehensive disposition, he walked to the door and slid it open before a familiar hand could knock. Surprised, Zechs stood dumbfounded by the young master's foresight. "The. . The court awaits for you, Master."

"You don't have to call me that, Zechs."

"Now I do, sir."

"I understand," he placed his book on the table and slid the door closed behind him. "Where is my brother?"

"He's already in the great hall with the court."

Trowa gulped. 'Poor Wufei. He's probably scared.' "Tell me, Zechs. How many are there?"

"Only about fifty court members, sir."

He nodded and remained silent in vain to stop his heart from pounding his body back and forth. The walk to the grand room was longer than hoped and slower than wished. 'What will he look like? Will he like me? Will this ache stop once I've seen him? Well, I must not look back now. This is the moment I've longed for.'

Zechs bowed and slid the larger door open to a noisy room full Japanese court members. As he walked to find his brother, people gawked at him. Faithful in his composure, he strode to his brother's side near the front of the room across from another groups of royalty. Wufei looked overwhelmed, but was coping well. With a nod, he stood beside his brother with rigid posture. Silence then hit the room and everyone sat on the provided pillows. The empty throne was filled with a long bearded man with long, luxurious kimono and a thick hapi coat. Beside him sat his two wives in equally rich appearance. Finally, two other royal members sat across from the brothers, one with slick hair and a taller stature, the other with shorter stature and raggedy dark locks. The two stared at them as if they knew who they were and why they came when the rest of the court chatted about them. The Chinese brothers looked to each other out of the corner of their eyes in confusion. They fought not to sweat under all the eyes pointed in their direction, but they kept their focus ahead and to the father of their mates.

"Fellow members of the court, family, and friends, we have gathered there to welcome two new members into our family. As you know my two sons Kuyuma Treize and Kuyuma Heero have chosen to wed. These ceremonies will take place later in the season. The new members of the Kuyuma family are Chun-Mixu Trowa and Chun-Mixu Wufei. They come from Beijing to wed my sons. Please make them feel welcome in our home as well as yours. Without further adieu, Chun-Mixu Trowa," the head said.

Catching a particularly soft gaze from the blue-eyed son, Trowa stood in place and bowed. The cleared his throat and began a speech in Japanese that his brother hardly understood. "Doomo arigato gozaimashita, Kuyuma-sama. In Beijing, my brother and I enjoyed many simple things that our countrymen took for granted and others our fellows couldn't enjoy. Because of our status, we enjoyed education from all the finest teachers in our country, learning things only imagined in fairy-tales as fact. One particular legend was of a boy who happened upon the entrance to the land of the enlightened ones. When entering, the first enlightened one asked him how he could enjoy the vast gardens, silent hymns, and other unworldly pleasures without having been enlightened. He simply replied that because he was a child he could find pleasure in anything, even things he didn't understand. With that the man led him through the land of the satisfied, showing him every crevice of delight in the realm. When led back to the entrance, the boy walked out of his own accord when the man stopped him. 'Why do you not be to stay and live here?' 'Because,' he said, 'I want to be there.' With that, the child led the man out of the land of the enlightened. This tale is what brought me to Japan; the chance to enjoy the land. Every grain of sand, every flower, for this land I've only read about in books until just two days ago when I stood on the deck of a ship with my brother. Thank you for being a part of this land. I shall do my best to serve it as I've served my own country."

Trowa began to sit as a voice rang through the silence. "Why did the man also leave the land of the enlightened?" the honeysuckle tones filtered into his ears.

He rose again to the voice of his mate with a smile. 'I found him.' Gazing into the eyes of blue, he replied, "He left because he wanted the child to be there as well."

The court discussed the story quietly under the father's eyes. He saw how his son and the green-eyed Chinese boy never severed gaze. Pleased, he moved to the next Chinese boy. "Good, good. I'm very pleased, Chun-Mixu Trowa. Now Chun-Mixu Wufei, please introduce yourself to the court."

Wufei stood and with less eloquence than his brother replied to the court in Japanese, "Forgive my small voice for I have been sick and have not the breath to deliver a long speech. Doomo arigato gozaimashita, Kuyuma-sama. I am honored by the grace of this family. In China, I spent seven years in the company of an elderly man without sight. Without eyes, he showed me the beauty of the world I had ignored. Reflected upon his face, his glazed eyes, was the love for his fellow man and nation I have not seen in hundreds of soldiers. My hope is that I may serve this nation as I served mine, with eyes open to love my fellow man." He bowed and sat.

"The court is pleased as well as I am with the match. Now, please enjoy the feast," the father announced.

The Chinese brothers smiled at each other in victory. "No one was shocked by your hair," Trowa whispered to Wufei who exaggerated a sigh. "I'm going to take a walk. I have not the stomach to eat after that."

"I'm famished," Wufei countered. "I will see you after dinner."

Trowa nodded and headed out into the garden behind the manor proper. Quickly after finding a place to sit on a smooth bench, he noticed footfalls approaching. He knew who it was.

"The court was impressed, Trowa-san," the honeysuckle voice returned.

"Did I impress you?" he asked not wanting to turn around to look at him yet, afraid he'll find an imperfection in Trowa's appearance. Waiting, he held his breath.

"Hai. Totemo. Will you stay with me in this land?" he asked quietly, as if in secret.

That made Trowa turn to the tall man a few feet away from him timidly. He was a few inches taller than Trowa and held an air of honor. The masculine beauty in his form captured Trowa's eyes. Those same deep ocean blue eyes grazed upon him like a fat feather. The sensation drove him to gaze back. The air hung heavy and blue with light bugs luminating his way to stand. Slow to smile, he simply replied, "Yes."

Treize walked shyly toward Trowa. Elaited by the end of the torture, he hungered to be simply near the boy. Once a foot from the shorter brown-haired boy, he extended his hand grazing the side of Trowa's face.

Taking his warm hand in his Trowa felt his cheeks stain as he said, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

The sated brother scampered less then gracefully to the nearest secluded part of the manor to throw up. He bent over the wooden deck, slamming his knees into the wood and held in his inards. His head was light after the involuntary expulsion of protein. He sat near his puke on the deck and steadied his breath. 'That was smooth, Wu. Get it together.' Sweat beaded from his forehead in his palms.

Still irratically breathing, he heard a pattern of footsteps approaching his back. In his state, he didn't care if anyone saw him. He just needed to relax. Then the footsteps stopped and a boy sat beside him. "Are you still not well?" asked a rough voice.

"I will be okay," he muttered in Chinese.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"Oh," he looked over to his left to see a head of tossed brown hair and blue eyes. His cheeks were flushed as if he were running. "I will be fine. You're red."

He felt his cheeks get hotter. "Ano . . . I was running."

"Doushite?"

"I was looking for you," he looked at the grass.

"And you found me. Now what?" he asked. 'This is Heero, huh? He looks nice, but can I trust him?'

'This is Wufei. I will try and trust him, but can I love him?' He cleared his throat. "We're getting married in a month so I thought we could get to know each other."

"Aa. Trowa's handling this bit better than I am. Forgive me if I'm a little distant."

"I understand. Treize is handling this well, also. I think he loves your brother already."

"Ano, how? They don't even know each other."

"When we found out you wouldn't meet with us until you got better Father became angry. Then Treize suggested to Father that you were staying away so we wouldn't get sick. He defended your brother without having ever met him. I asked him later about it and he told me he trusted Trowa and knew him."

"Impossible. Trowa has been acting strangely also. On the way here he asked me if I could miss someone I'd never met."

"It's strange. I don't understand it."

"Are you happy, Heero-san?"

"I suppose. My brother makes life pretty hard, but I am content."

"Do you hate him?"

"No."

"Then neither do I."

'What?' Heero whirled around to look at his fiancee. 'What does he mean by that?'

"What are you looking at?" he curled his fingers around the ends of his hair. His chest sweeled with lingering thoughts of disapproval. 'Is it my hair? Does he know? I hope not. For some reason, this feeling in my heart won't let me breath when I'm close to him.'

Heero cleared his throat. "Betsuni."

In the uncomfortable silence, Wufei scooted closer to Heero and planted a chaste kiss upon his cheek. He stood and took in a deep breath. His brain felt like it would explode if he hadn't.

Willing himself to connect with the boy, leaving most of his inhibitions far away, he took Wufei's hand gently and tugged him in a southbound direction. They had walked for about a mile when Wufei prompted the silent youth. "Where are we going, Heero-san?"

Determined to keep it a secret he uttered, "Himitsu desu."

Prodding into his current Japanese lessons, he smiled, intriged with Heero's intentions. 'A secret, huh?'

Silent for the duration of the hike, their grip became more fragile, gentle the furthur they ventured. The tension from the beginning of the evening had dissapated with the fall of the sun. Harsh reds of the sky softened into dull blues and electric purples forcing Wufei to take notice of the change, while Heero thought only of the destination. Finding the end of the vouage, Heero let go of Wufei's hand and gazed at the expanse. The Chinese boy found the sky much wider than it was on the trip. The edge of this new cliff shone the vastness of Kuyuma's influence. Every tiny lamp lit, every street corner, every dirty crevice was theirs. "Do you like it?"

"Hai," he inhaled the scent of this place, sweet as lilies but clean like the ocean. All the flashing lights and moving people made him think of home. The few times he made it out of the palace, he marveled at all the people in one place. 'It's almost unreal that this many people exist.'

The Japanese boy stared more at the Chinese boy than the land under them. 'What is he thinking?' "All this is my family's," he said mournfully. "And yet, it's like my power begins and ends right here on this patch of land." He sat on the edge letting his legs dangle over.

Wufei sat behind him, a bit afraid of the edge. Hunched over on his feet to keep his kimono clean, he exhaled. "Is it because of your brother?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Is it because of him you feel you have no power?" he asked sweetly into his ear.

"Aa. . Wait, no. I believe it is because of my father," he whispered as if ashamed of his discovery.

"Your father?" Wufei asked.

"Hai. When I was younger, I believe it was five years ago, I fell into the Black Eye. No one could get close enough to help me, I wouldn't let them."

"The Black Eye?"

"Aa, I felt sad, all the time, everyday. It was worse than the most consuming agony. Nothing I could do made the pain of existance go away. One day my father called me to him. He berated me for my poor performance in everything, how I'd never measure up to my brother, how I killed Mother. Then he told me I was a disgrace to the family, that I was better off dead. I soon fell even deeper into the Eye. I stopped everything. The steel bars of my cell had grown into walls that suffocated me. After days of not moving from my bed, lieing in a bed of rotten food and fecies, I walked to the garden with my katana," he laughed. "I tried to commit seppuku right there over the tiger lilies. I brought the blade to my gut," he opened his kimono to his fiancee. He touched the rippled skin of an old scar on his belly, not two finger's width over his bellybutton. "I'd like to think it was that day I died. That day I gave up everything to be feel of the sting of reality die. I imagined I'd spend eternity on the earth paining my father's eyes for his ignorance. Right when the blade punctured my skin I heard my name being screamed behind me. Startled I pushed the blade futher into my skin. The blood spilled out of me like blood spilled out of my enemies on the battlefield. Finally I was going to be free. Then my brother pulled the blade out of me and carried me back to the house gently. I don't remember much after that, but when I awoke my brother was above me. Even though I wasn't awake, he was at my side every moment I was in the darkness. He told me what I had done. If it hadn't been for the pain in my belly, I would have killed him for bringing me back right then. Kami-sama, I hated him from that day forth."

Stopping him from another word, his Chinese counterpart pulled his head to his chest, hard enough to hear his heart beat through his clothes immediately. Trying to hide the trickling tears behind his eyes, Wufei grasped the other body to him tightly. He raised his voice, "What the hell were you thinking, Heero-san! Nothing in the world is as horrible as being apart from the earth, from your family. Nothing is worth death! A family's disgrace is nothing compared to being dead! You'd be gone forever! You couldn't come back to the earth to live again if you killed yourself."

Heero was too shocked by this display to speak. The tears dripped onto his face that rested against the chest that spouted such words. 'Is he defending life? Is he defending my life?'

"Don't hate him for bringing you back. You should thank him!"

"Thank him? He's the reason I can't do anything right! He's the reason I'm a disgrace. Just because I can not compare I am nothing to them!" he argued against his chest.

His grip fading into a soft embrace, he added, "Then I will be thankful for the both of us. Heero-san."

Heero's head rose to face the gentle eyes above him. He stroked the soft short hair that adorned Wufei's head and whispered, "Aa." Wufei's visage glowed like the tips of tiger lilies in the dark. The soft dark eyes shrunk gently behind the tears he spilt only for him. Taking a chance on a second touch, he caressed the side of Wufei's face like a freshly plucked feather, soft and inviting. The same scarlet stains that had graced his face only an hour before were painted on their faces now. He stared at his lips, he needed them on his. He needed him, like he swore he would never need anyone again. Hesitantly and slowly, he led his lips closer and closer to Wufei's until they nearly met. Millimeters apart, he spoke, "Wufei, I. . .I'm starting to understand my brother's actions." Then he realized what how close he was to risking everything he'd worked for. He parted quickly, leaving a bewildered Wufei sitting in the grass. 

He cleared his throat and held out his hand. "We should get back."

Part 3


	3. In Sickness and in Health

**Land of the Rising**

Pairing: 13x3/3x3

Part: 3/4

Completed: 3/4

Author's note: I'm not an old Japanese guy so I don't own GW. This fic has many references to historical Chinese and Japanese culture.

Since the sun hit the sky the morning after the feast, the pairs had been discouraged from seeing each other until the wedding the month after. They sat near each other during meals and discussed their days, but were thrown apart after dinner until the next day. Wufei entertained his fascination with training while Trowa hunched over books and practiced with the sword occasionally with his brother. They enjoyed each other's company as they had before, but refused to talk about their fiancées with each other, fearing the outburst of competition.

One evening after dinner and "lanterns out" for the boys, Wufei slinked through the halls to another corridor, to another door. He whispered a name quietly and was let into a lit room full of books. Wufei let his eyes slide across unfamiliar titles and graceful paint strokes until the taller one spoke. "What is the purpose of your visit, Wufei-san?"

He cleared his throat and approached Treize as if to size him up. After a few moments of constant eye contact, he bowed deeply before Treize.

"What's this all about?"

"Doomo Arigatou Gozaimashita. This is on behalf of myself and Heero," he remained bowed.

"Wufei-san?" he questioned.

"Thank you for saving his life. He says he hates you for saving him, but I know he doesn't."

"He hates me for different reasons," he said somberly.

Wufei smiled and sat up. "Hai."

"Well, thank you," he knelt near Wufei.

"What for, Treize-san?"

"For showing me you care that much for my brother," he kissed Wufei's palm softly.

Wufei withdrew his hand sheepishly and blushed. "He's important to me, just like my brother feels you are important to him."

"Oh?" he smirked.

"He doesn't speak of you, but when he thinks of you his aura stretches out. I really must be going," he stood up.

"Take care of my brother, Wufei-san."

"Hai," he replied and headed back to his room. "And you take care of mine."

The next dinner had arrived and gone after a long day of reading for Trowa. Page after page of Chinese and Japanese texts filled the space between dinners and the day until he was to be wed. Treize remained a pleasant enigma to him. He enjoyed every look and word that sprung from him. It was easier for him to pleasure himself knowing that magnificent face to the very last detail. He had yet to taste those lips, he dreamt of, but savored the wait.

Drooling over his fiancée absentmindedly while pretending to read a book, he heard a knock on the door. He wiped off his drool stained chin and walked to the door. Zechs once again appeared, but this time adorning a small package of some sort. With a questioning look, he answered, "Yes, Zechs?"

"This is a package from your fiancée. The young master seemed a bit happier than usual when he fetched me to deliver it."

"Thank you, Zechs. Has there been a date set?" he inquired.

He tugged on his lower lip a bit. "No sir. The word around the manor is that it will be . . ."

"Zechs!" A loud voice cracked behind him. 

Zechs froze and moved from the door. "Yes, sir?"

"You should know not to spread the word of hand maids and chatty court members over the official address. Now, go! Stop pestering the young master!" a more familiar voice demanded.

Zechs left hastily with his tail between his legs.

Trowa was about to close his door when a honey-tanned hand stopped the door and a head popped inside and whispered into his ear, "Good Evening, Trowa."

"Tr. . .Treize-san. What are you doing here, you could get into trouble! Please leave before someone sees you. Hurry," he tried to be quiet while straining his point.

"I'll be waiting, my dear Trowa," he let his cheek graze the other boy's as he slinked out and into the hallway. "Sleep well."

Trowa watched him turn the corner to his own quarters before pulling the door closed. He shivered at the thought of that touch. Quickly, he opened the packet from his beloved.

The first thing to glide out of the white envelope was a book. No title donned its side or cover, so he opened it to the first page, which had hand-written Japanese on it.

Dearest Trowa,

I delight in the thought of this arrangement. Please believe me when I thank you for giving everything up for us. Your brother and you took from your safe homes to a place you'd spend your days with strangers. Now however I am not a stranger, or at least wish desperately not to be. By way of this book, I'd like us to explore each other. My father wishes to keep us apart until our marriage; I ache to see you, hear your words, smell your scent. Each day, please write about yourself, and your thoughts of Japan. Each day at dinner, give the book to me so I may read your thoughts. In return I will add my own and leave it at your back door at dawn. Please indulge me in this task if you find it a chore, but from what I know of you so far, I believe it will be as much my pleasure as it is yours.

Kuyuma Treize

Delighted, he found a brush and turned to the second page when the package fell over onto the floor. Curious, he found a rosebud and a small bottle of massage oil which read, "for your pleasure" on it. Trowa turned florescent red when the meaning of the phrase unraveled itself in his mind. 'How could he be so shameless?' he thought, but it intrigued him even more.

On the other side of the manor, a tired Heero sat somberly with a tea set at his side and a bitter expression clinging to his face. The fireflies wove themselves in and out of the late summer air, seducing his eyes to follow wherever they went. In a strange way, Heero admired them for being so free, so open. Lost in a maze of thoughts, he didn't even notice the pair of feet that crept up behind him only to be startled by hands covering his mouth. He stilled and pulled his head up to see two large eyes dodging from side to side watching for spies. Only when he recognized the owner of the pair did he rub his face into the soft hand. Shocked at first, Wufei pet his cheek then sat a bit away from him embarrassed. He pulled his hand back and stared at the ground even though he wanted to memorize the boy next to him. "I couldn't sleep," he whispered.

Heero smiled a bit at the risk they were taking. If they were caught, they would be reprimanded, maybe even raise suspicion about the marriage. But he needed to see Wufei as badly as Wufei wanted to see him. He poured a cup of tea and offered it to Wufei, who graciously accepted. 

Both listening to each other sip their tea, they watched the field of fireflies roam the air energetically. After a dragon's breath of silence, the Chinese boy spoke up. "I don't know how Trowa and Treize can stand only seeing each other at dinner. They don't even get to sit next to each other. I'd go mad if I didn't get to spy on you a little and meet up with you like this. I know it's a risk, but I just feel so detached without you." He smirked, "Funny how that happened, nee? I thought things would be different between us. I don't know why this feeling is so . . ."

"Strong," Heero finished for him. "Like a plant to the sun, my aura wants to linger around yours. It's innate."

"Hai," he replied, daring to gaze at his counterpart. Trying to be casual, he put his hand on Heero's while pretending to be preoccupied with the bugs. He felt the hand tense, then intertwine its digits with his. It was nice, to feel Heero near.

After a slow few winds Heero unwound his fingers to pour himself another cup of tea. Wufei curled up and put his head onto Heero's lap while he was pouring tea, knowing more contact would sate the yearning in his chest. His hair fell over his face and into the Japanese boy's loose kimono, tickling his stomach a bit. Brushing his hair from his companion's face, Heero was reminded of a picture he once saw of a group of Chinese men. "Don't all Chinese keep their hair in a long braid?"

Wufei stiffened and curled tighter into a ball. "I was upset."

"What do you mean?" he began to stroke his back to console him from the inner demons who began to plague him.

"When my father told us we were being married off to a couple of Japanese, I was very upset. My father was insensitive to our feelings. He said how we felt didn't matter. We were doing it for our country. I didn't want to leave my life in China. I would have rather become a farmer and worked the land alone with my brother my whole life than go to another country where people might hate us. So I ran into the forest and cut my hair off, disgracing our family to get back at my father for sentencing us to such fate. True it hasn't been easy, but it seems silly now, how I reacted. I felt as though I'd been torn apart."

"I won't hurt you, Wufei-san. I won't ever try to do that."

"I know that now," he turned to lie on his back, looking straight up at his friend. "But how could I have known that then?"

"Aa. When my brother and I told our father we preferred to marry men, he was unhappy. He had even sent for two girls from Edo and placed them in our rooms to set us straight. In the end, he realized we would only be happy with men. I still think I'm too young to marry, but if it's to you, Wufei-san, I've been old enough forever."

"Heero-san," he sighed happily tucking his hands over his face. "Why do you say things like that? This feeling begins to hurt."

Heero pulled his hands from his face and delicately asked," Where does it hurt?"

After opening his inner kimono to expose his chest, he pointed to his heart, "Koko."

Without thinking, Japanese hands traveled down a Chinese face, a supple neck, and landed over his heart, feeling it beat steadily. "Does it still hurt?"

"Hai."

"What can I do to ease your pain?" he asked softly.

He rested a hand on Heero's hand again, "Marry me now."

"Kami-sama!" he strained as he pulled Wufei into his arms and hugged him tightly. He clung to the boy like an upset child to his favorite teddy bear in the middle of a thunderstorm. Wufei held his arms and rubbed his face into them. His Japanese heart was hurting so badly from wanting to consume the Chinese boy as he wanted to be consumed. "Wufei, don't say those things. You're hurting me, too. You know I want the wait to be over too. If it were up to me, we'd be married tonight, right now, here where only we can see each other's hearts. Please Wufei, help me wait."

Wufei put Heero's hand down his kimono, gliding it across his skin before he let go. His uncertain hand slid upward until it reached his face again. "If I start touching you now, I won't stop."

"Then don't," he replied.

Heero's hand slid back down his chest to his nipples, playing with them, kneading them until they hardened. Only then did he venture past his belly to where Wufei wanted his hand to go. When he reached below his belly button, Wufei was nearly panting, moving toward the touch. Then he pulled his hand away and wrapped his kimono back around him. He kissed the confused boy's head and whispered, "We can not do this yet. I'm sorry, but I can't do this before the ceremony, otherwise I'll feel as if I've cheated. I'm sorry, Wufei." 'Again,' he thought.

"But, Heero, we're not doing anything wrong. It's not cheating because those words won't be any less true today than they will be in a month."

"You don't understand. We must be pure for each other for the ceremony. If I start touching you, pleasing you, I won't stop until we've had each other in some way. Please wait for the marriage to be official, then we can . . ."

After a few fireflies had gone to sleep, Wufei finally groaned in agreement. He stood up and walked away from Heero.

Heero called his name. 'Is he mad at me?'

"I'll see you at dinner tomorrow, Heero-san."

That night Trowa spend bent over his desk trying in vain to explain how his new home made him feel. It always came back to his fiancée. It was like he couldn't think straight, or was thinking too straight.

In the past week, I've seen how strong I can be with only by brother at my side. At the same time, I've witnessed how weak we are as humans. Seeing my brother sick, caught up in the turret of emotions he's been pulled through, watching him be brave despite himself, that's the weakest I've ever seen him. (I must thank you for telling your father we didn't want to spread the illness.) 

My brother has been my inspiration for as long as I can remember. We, as siblings, have been through everything and more with our fair share of scars and tears. I can hardly convey how painful it was to watch him be ill for those days. Also, in a way, it was calming, to be a nurturing figure at his side at all hours. This peace I felt has rekindled my interest in humanity. Nursing someone dear to me is the most satisfying thing I've experienced in a while, struggling with them through every cough and nightmare. The thought that humans can be so strong one day and so frail the next conjures up a strange set of contradictions. How strong I have been in my days! How weak I have been without myself, yet I remain myself throughout. My weakness has been and will always be my love for life. In the later years of my training, I was instructed to kill one of my favorite pets. My father had found out I had grown attached to a particular bird in our collection. Treize, she was beautiful, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Her tail feathers stretched the height of a child and cried out in dark green. Her body was as majestic as all the forests in China with the eyes of a dragon. I named her Mei. Father ordered me to kill her in a slow manner so I may watch her suffer a horrible death before my eyes. At the time I didn't see what my father wanted from this cruel exercise. Only when I was on the boat to my new home did I realize he wanted me to deny feeling in any matter aside from rage.

I stood with my sword over my head, waiting to gather the courage to let it fall. Looking into Mei's eyes I felt the rage my father pined for. After he had yelled himself red for me to kill her, I delivered a blow . . . 

To myself. I couldn't stand the thought of harming something so dear to me, so I turned the blow to something that wouldn't hurt as much. My father shut his eyes in disappointment and left the room.

The next night we had peasant for dinner, and I knew she was gone. When I saw the carcass I left the room, never to eat bird again, never to feel anything ever again, except for my brother.

This may be quite a tale for you, but it is the only way I could make you understand how much I feel for life, how I'd rather die than hurt anything I love. This is also the tale of why feeling in and of itself is difficult. Be patient with me, please.

Chun-Mixu Trowa

Watching the sun come up, Trowa lay down to rest thinking of Mei.

A loud shriek echoed through the halls of the manor as the decorator dropped his plans again before the lord's second wife. The wedding plans had yet again upset to the ends of screaming his ear off again. "Please, miss, calm down! I can change everything as you wish."

"That's what you said last time you insolent fool! How many times do I have to tell you lilies, not tiger lilies. All the Sakura blossoms will be blooming. Think about the colors!"

"I'm sorry, my lady. It will be corrected."

"This will be a beautiful ceremony indeed! My lord will be pleased."

Just as the decorator was leaving, Zechs found his way to the room. "Is something wrong, my lady?"

"Not anymore. Thank you for concern. While you are here," she crooked a brow, "tell me how our pairs are fairing."

"Quite well in the circumstances. Our lord's sons are anxious about the ceremony, as their fiancées are rather silent. The older of the two is quite involved in political matters, though," he reported.

"Might he be a spy?" she licked her lips.

"I doubt it, my lady. But if you wish me to watch him ore closely, I will."

"Good. You have proven very useful to the family. Someday might you wed also?" she asked.

"I am a servant to the Kuyuma. If you find it necessary for me to wed, I will. As of now, I entertain no love interest I can pursue."

She sighed, "Come now, Zechs," she said in an informal tone. "You haven't let go of him have you?"

Zechs simply stood proud amidst the scrutiny.

"And I suppose you never will."

He nodded slightly.

"Then prepare yourself for a world of hurt. You must understand that after a month from now you will have no chance of telling him. You are dismissed."

In a rather child like fashion, the younger Chinese brother followed a dragonfly into the woods around the manor while practicing. This particular blue-winged distraction flew into a tree high above his head only to fuel his need to catch it. Climbing the smooth bark of a Sakura tree, so unlike the trees of his garden in China, he watched the creature hide itself in the pit of a branch. "You won't get away that easily," he mumbled. Perching himself on the branch closest to his small prey, he hid himself from the floor below. It reminded him of the trees he'd mount in his childhood. Trowa called him a monkey, which he still was. Ever so carefully, he swung for the bug, missing it only by a whisker. It flew fast and awkward to the sky above, racing his bipedal stalker. In fear of falling, Wufei remained planted on his perch, waiting for the next distraction. When none came, he nodded off chasing a new kind of winged creature.

Sunset was approaching and diner was about to begin again with the same sights and sounds, but a different smell and taste than before. The date of the wedding was to be officially announced and the pairs were to speak, but one of the brothers was nowhere to be found. Other visiting court members became suspicious as they seated. Rumors of suicide and other nasties floated around the room as food had been served. As always Zechs waited patiently for the Kuyuma youths to appear for dinner, but the younger had not been around either. Even he was getting suspicious.

Treize and Trowa had also discovered the matter at hand, looking at each other for reassurance. Upon passing the journal to his love, Trowa said, "I haven't seen my brother since this morning when he was practicing in the garden. Is it possible he's still there?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't worry too much though. They will find them," he winked. "If they still haven't found them by the end of dinner, we will look ourselves. Does this satisfy you?"

"Hai," he bowed and returned to his seat.

Another servant tapped Zechs on the shoulder. "The lord says to find them before any more rumors start or punishment will be given."

He nodded and sent all unoccupied attendants to look for the boys. 

Swarming the premises, attendants found Heero looking for his fiancée, but found no trace of the Chinese boy. Every crevice of the gardens and manor were scoured. Upon finding Heero, the surveyors asked him to return to dinner before any other suspicion was aroused.

Arriving at the active feast, Heero immediately headed for Zechs. "They still haven't him," he reported disappointedly.

"We will find him, master. Please sit and eat."

"Find him quickly, Zechs," he stated, for it was not a request.

The announcement was held off and dinner went on without the smaller Chinese boy. Heero fidgeted the whole meal without eating even a grain of rice. Nearly sick with worry, he gathered the others much more forcibly than normal to look for his love. When reaching the perimeter of the manor, he spoke. "We've searched everywhere, the gardens, the rooms, even the market. Where could he be?"

Treize noted his brother's worry, he excessive fidgeting. "Trowa said he was practicing in the garden this morning. Since then no one has seen him. Is he kidnapped?"

"I don't think so," Trowa said. "In China we were much freer to come and go as we pleased. We would be gone for sometimes days. That's it!" he lit up for a second. "As children we would always hide in trees. He probably is in a tree somewhere."

Elated, yet frustrated, Heero added, "There are hundreds of trees on our property. It's going to take all night to find him. (Sigh) Better start now."

Trowa smiled slightly, "It won't take long."

Heero merely looked at him. "Do you know where he is?"

"No, but you do."

Still confused, he started the search for Wufei. Not inspecting every tree, he headed more or less to the middle of the woods near the garden. Without much straining, he looked up a grand Sakura tree to find a raven-haired boy sleeping on a high branch, his head tilted slightly to the left, motionless. 

Heero turned to Trowa, "How did you . . . "

"Go under the branch he's on," he told Heero. Looking up at his brother he called out, "Hey monkey!"

Instantly, the black-haired boy jumped inches off the branch and out of the tree with a yelp. Fearing severe wounds, he stood ready to tumble, but a familiar boy was in the way. With a smack, yell and grunt, the Japanese boy caught the boy at the expense of falling over himself. Wufei instantly remove himself with a blush. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Forgive me! I'm sorry Heero-san," he bowed, staring his smiling brother down.

Heero stood up with a little difficulty and nodded "It's okay. You missed dinner, Wufei-san. I worried."

Treize stiffened in shock at his brother's statement. 'Heero miss someone? He's in love with this boy isn't he?'

The older Chinese boy tugged on his fiancée's kimono sleeve and whispered. "They make a good match, don't they Treize-san?"

"Hai," he responded and pulled his hand from his sleeve to hold Trowa's hand. But it got caught on something, which came loose swiftly.

The next night, over tofu dishes and rice, the lord of the manor called for everyone's attention over dinner. He rose over his captive audience and said, "It is my pleasure to announce a great event, a great junction over a sea from one world to another. My sons have made me proud all their lives and now, they will face an even greater adversary than the largest army or the strongest spirit. They are to be married. In a month's time, we will have two new members to our family: Trowa and Wufei," he pointed them out of the onlookers. They bowed their heads sheepishly. "These two young men, great in their own right, will be married to my sons in intimate union. I will be happy to call you sons."

The members of the court gave their congratulations to the four brothers, genuinely happy for the strange pairs. At the end of dinner, the pairs went their separate ways, this time with the exchange of a book and a date to look forward to.

With the end of a brush in his mouth, Trowa hunched over his desk staring bewilderedly out of the door leading to the garden. 'Treize, Treize, Treize. What will I do with you for a whole month? Almost half of the book is written in. Will there be enough room left?'

Trowa

I'm missing something. I don't know where it is, but it's precious to me. My mother gave me a ring before my fifteenth birthday. I never took it off and my swordplay suffered. Even then I've always kept it on my person at all times. Please if you see a gold ring with a Sakura blossom engraved on it, send it my way. I'm so worried about it. Ever since mother left us, Heero and I lost something akin to a part of our hearts. He took it harder than I had. He seems to blame father for it, like he gave her the disease that killed her. I was ten at the time, while Heero was seven. On top of every other reason to hate father, he had another reason.

I have a surprise for you the night of our wedding. Aside from enjoying each other for the first time, which is a pleasure I yearn for nightly, we will have a smaller thing to rejoice. I hope you like it. I had it sent all the way from the land you love so much. I will not give anything else away. 

Treize

Pondering the absence of the ring, he thought of the garden, then the forest. 'Maybe he lost it there. I'd love to be the one to find it for him.' With that, he went out to find his fiancee's ring.

Part 4 Coming Soon!


End file.
